Motor vehicle sales fell -5.0% in July to a 17.0 million annual rate. This was almost entirely due a fall in North American-made vehicles, which fell from a 14.3 million rate in June to a 13.4 million rate in July.

The final revision for 2nd Quarter productivity shows a -0.6% decline in productivity, while unit labor costs rose 4.3%.

Personal Income rose 0.4% in July, while Consumer Spending rose 0.3%. The PCE Price Index was unchanged, but rose 0.1% at the core. On a year-over-year basis, the PCE Price index is up 0.8% overall, and 1.6% at the core.

The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey’s general activity index fell from -1.3 to -6.2, but the production index rose from 0.4 to 4.5 in August.

Technology would make our lives much easier, if it weren’t for entrenched government/corporate collusion. Donald Trump now may, or may not, expel the heathen foreigners, though there’ll still be a wall, believe me. There are more US Nazis than I previously thought, though, of course, Illinois Nazis are still the worst. UT Austin college students protest guns with dildos, and risk running afoul of Texas’s obscene device law, which makes possessing more than five dildos a felony. Apparently, having 5 dildos or less just makes you a hobbyist.

Durable goods orders rose 4.4% in July, with ex-transportation orders up 1.5% and core capital goods orders up 1.6%. On a year-over-year basis, however, orders have fallen -3.3%, ex-transportation orders are down -0.6%, and core capital goods orders are down -4.9%.